Method and system for content aggregation via a broadband gateway

ABSTRACT

A broadband gateway, which enables communication with a plurality of devices, handles at least one physical layer connection to at least one corresponding network access service provider. The broadband gateway determines network channel conditions for a requested service and identifies a user profile for a requesting device. The broadband gateway negotiates a service profile for the requested service with the at least one network access service provider based on the determined network conditions and the identified user profile. Content may be acquired and received for the requested service from the at least one network access service provider utilizing the negotiated service profile. The broadband gateway aggregates and assembles the received content. The resulting assembled content is communicated to the requesting device for the requested service. The broadband gateway may relay content among peer devices. Content conversion may be performed during the relay communication to match user profiles of subsequent peer devices.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This patent application is a continuation of and claims priority to andthe benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,305, filed Dec.20, 2010, which makes reference to, claims priority to and claimsbenefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/351,696filed on Jun. 4, 2010.

The above stated applications are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties for all purposes.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application also makes reference to:

-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/355,377 filed on Jan. 16, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/355,413 filed on Jan. 16, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/355,480 filed on Jan. 16, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/395,383 filed on Feb. 27, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,321 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,355 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,971 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,993 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,216 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,433 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,205 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,353 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,966 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,453 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,172 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,429 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,990 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,442 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,000 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,010 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,022 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,986 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,236 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,091 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,213 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,166 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,340 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,073 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,501 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,206 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,440 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,171 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,223 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,477 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,331 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,036 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,196 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,391 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,405 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,753 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,414 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;    and-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,753 filed on Dec. 30, 2010.

Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to broadband gateways. Morespecifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a methodand system for content aggregation via a broadband gateway.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the continuous growth of digital television or broadcastmultimedia, and/or broadband access, which may be used in conjunctionwith online businesses, social networks, and/or other online servicesand applications, users may desire having access to a larger number ofproviders and/or a broader range of content in a manner that is flexibleand/or suits the users' lifestyles. Most users connect to the Internetusing web browsers running on personal computers (PCs). Furthermore,most households may have one or more televisions that may be used toview television and/or multimedia broadcasts. Television broadcasts mayinclude terrestrial TV, Cable-Television (CATV), satellite TV and/orInternet Protocol television (IPTV) based broadcasts. To ensure againstunauthorized reception and/or use of TV and/or multimedia broadcast,service providers may require use of dedicated set-top boxes (STBs) thatmay be used to encrypt broadcast signals communicated from the serviceproviders to generate suitable video and/or audio streams that may beplayed via televisions and/or other display/playback devices in thehousehold. Furthermore, STBs and/or TVs may support Internet access.Thus, rather than using a computer to access the Internet, a user mayfind it more convenient to use the flat screen televisions and/ormonitors in homes for the same purpose. To do so, for example, an STBconnected to a flat screen television may be provided with web browsingsoftware and protocols, and Internet connectivity, which may enable theuser to easily access the Internet or check their electronic mail(email), for example, from a convenient and comfortable location such astheir living room.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for content aggregation via abroadband gateway, substantially as illustrated by and/or described inconnection with at least one of the figures, as set forth morecompletely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat comprises a home network serviced by a broadband gateway, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary broadband gateway, whichmay be operable to aggregate content from one or more service providersfor a requested service in a home network, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps that may beperformed by a broadband gateway to negotiate a service profile for arequested service with one or more service providers based oncorresponding network conditions and a user profile associated with arequesting device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps that may beperformed by a broadband gateway to assemble content aggregated from oneor more service providers for a requested service, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps that may beperformed by a broadband gateway for content relay utilizingpeer-to-peer technology in a home network, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor content aggregation via a broadband gateway. In various embodimentsof the invention, a broadband gateway, which enables communication witha plurality of devices, is operable to handle at least one physicallayer connection to at least one corresponding network access serviceprovider. In this regard, the at least one physical layer connection maycomprise a plurality of physical layer connections and the at least onecorresponding network access service provider may comprise a pluralityof access service providers. Each of the plurality of physical layerconnections corresponds to a respective one of the plurality ofcorresponding access service providers. The broadband gateway maydetermine network channel conditions for a requested service andidentify a user profile for a requesting device. The broadband gatewaymay negotiate a service profile for the requested service with the atleast one network access service provider based on the determinednetwork conditions and the identified user profile. The broadbandgateway may receive content for the requested service. The broadbandgateway may acquire content for the requested service from the at leastone network access service provider utilizing the service profile.Different service providers may provide content comprising differentcontent quality, format and/or transmission rates. The broadband gatewaymay aggregate and assemble the corresponding content for the requestedservice. The assembled content may be communicated to the requestingdevice for the requested service. Content may be relayed via thebroadband gateway among peer devices. The broadband gateway may performcontent conversion during the relay communication to match user profilesof subsequent peer devices.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat comprises a home network serviced by a broadband gateway, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1,there is shown a home network 100 a, a plurality of distributionnetworks 110, a plurality of service providers 120, and a plurality ofcontent providers 130. The home network 100 a may be serviced by abroadband gateway 102. Also shown in FIG. 1 are additional home networks100 b, . . . , 100 n. Each of the home networks 100 b, . . . , 100 n mayalso be serviced by a broadband gateway 102.

The service providers 120 may comprise various entities which mayprovide various services using different access technologies to devices104 via the gateway 102 and/or to the gateway 102 itself. The servicesmay include, but are not limited to, multimedia, television, Internet,phone, Ethernet, multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA), passive opticalnetwork (PON), and/or cellular services, for example. Some of theservice providers 120 may comprise network access service providerswhich provide physical layer connections to the gateway 102. Suchphysical layer connections may then be utilized to access, and/or may bepart of, the distribution networks 110. In this regard, “network accessservice provider” as utilized herein, is distinguished from the moregeneric term “service provider” which may encompass services other thanproviding physical layer access to a network. Cable televisionproviders, plain old telephone service (POTS) providers, digitalsubscriber line (DSL) providers, cellular providers, WiMAX providers,and satellite providers are examples of network access serviceproviders.

The content providers 130 may generate, capture, and/or package content,such as multimedia content, that may be distributed to end-users. Thecontent may comprise, for example, audio, video, e-book, gaming, and/orother content. The content may be, for example, downloadable and/orstreaming, rented and/or purchased. In some instances, a contentprovider and a service provider may be separate. In some instances, asindicated by the dashed line 106, a single provider may provide bothcontent and services. For example, an entity that functions as a networkaccess service provider may also provide content and/or services otherthan network access and, thus, that entity may also be accuratelyreferred to as a “content provider” and/or a “service provider.” Contentand/or services that are provided by a content provider 130 and/or aservice provider 120 may be provided to the gateway 110 via a physicallayer connection provided by a network access service provider 120.

The plurality of distribution networks 110 may comprise one or morenetworks that may be operable to enable wireless and/or wiredcommunication among a plurality of entities based on one or morenetworking and/or communication infrastructures. In this regard, theplurality of distribution networks 110 may be utilized to enabledistributing multimedia content generated by the content providers 130,directly and/or via the service providers 120, to end-users. The networkconnectivity available via the plurality of distribution networks 110may be based on one or more communication standards and/or protocols.The plurality of distribution networks 110 may comprise, for example,the Internet 110 a, a CATV network 110 b, a satellite television (TV)network 110 c, a wireless local area network/wide area network (LAN/WAN)110 d, and/or a cellular network 110 e.

The Internet 110 a may comprise a system of interconnected networks toenable exchange of data between a plurality of nodes, based on one ormore networking standards, including, for example, the Internet Protocol(IP). For example, the Internet 110 a may enable connectivity among aplurality of private and public, academic, business, and/or governmentnodes and/or networks. The physical connectivity may be provided in theInternet 110 a via, for example, the Public Switched Telephone Network(PSTN), copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless interfaces, and/orother protocols and/or standards-based interfaces. The transportfunctionality may be performed in the Internet 110 a based on, forexample, one or more protocols, such as the Transmission ControlProtocol/IP (TCP/IP), for example. The CATV network 110 b may comprisesuitable distribution nodes, systems, and/or subnetworks that may enableforwarding of communication between CATV providers and a plurality ofcable-TV consumers. For example, the CATV network 110 b may comprise anetwork of fiber optics and/or coaxial cables for use in CATVbroadcasts. The satellite TV network 110 c may comprise suitabledistribution nodes, systems, and/or subnetworks that may enablecommunication of satellite TV broadcast by satellite TV providers to aplurality of consumers. For example, the satellite network 110 c maycomprise a plurality of orbiting satellite nodes and/or one or moreterrestrial centers in a satellite-TV system.

The LAN/WAN network 110 d may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to enable implementation ofone or more wired and/or wireless LAN or WAN standards and/or protocols.Exemplary WAN technologies comprise, for example, WiMAX-based networks.Exemplary LAN technologies may comprise, for example, those based onIEEE 802.11 standards, including, for example, WiFi-based networks. Thecellular network 110 e may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to enable communication viaone or more cellular technologies. Exemplary cellular technologies maycomprise Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA),CDMA1000, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Global System forMobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS),Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), and/or Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). The cellular network 110 e maycomprise, for example, a plurality of control and/or switching nodes,and a plurality of base stations that enable transmission and/orreception of cellular based communications between the cellular network110 e and cellular capable devices.

The home network 100 a may correspond to a location that may comprise aplurality of devices 104 which may be serviced and/or managed by thebroadband gateway 102. In this regard, the location may be a residence(e.g., home, apartment), a small business, a school, a library, and/orother like settings in which users may want to obtain access to serviceand/or to content provider networks. The broadband gateway 102 may beutilized in the home network 100 a to provide connectivity between thehome network 100 a and the service providers 120 (and/or the contentproviders 130) via the distribution networks 110.

The broadband gateway 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to provide connectivitybetween one or more devices in a home network, such as the home network100 a, and a plurality of external networks. For example, the broadbandgateway 102 may handle a plurality of broadband physical layerconnections 108 to the distribution networks 110. The broadband physicallayer connections 108 may comprise wired, optical, and/or wirelessconnections between the broadband gateway 102 and the distributionnetworks 110, which may enable communication between the broadbandgateway 102 and the service providers 120. The broadband gateway 102 mayoperate as an interface device that may allow one or more service and/orcontent providers to interact with various devices in the home network.In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may be operable to performand/or provide various services that may pertain to enabling and/orfacilitating reception of content from one or more content providers,wherein the content may be delivered through one or more servicesproviders. For example, the broadband gateway 102 may be operable toperform such operations as network access related processing (e.g.,PHY/MAC, transport layer processing), encryption and/or decryption, userand/or account authentication, and/or at least some of video and/oraudio processing operations that may be needed for consumption ofmultimedia content. The broadband gateway 102 may communicate withvarious devices in the home network 100, using wired and/or wirelesscommunication links.

A single broadband gateway 102 may be operable to handle multiplephysical layer (i.e., layer 1 of the open-systems interconnection model(OSI)) connections 108 to multiple ones, or portions, of thedistribution networks 110, where different ones or portions of thedistribution network(s) 110 are owned, operated, leased, or otherwiseassociated with different network access service providers 120. Forexample, a first network access service provider 120 may provide networkaccess to the gateway 102 via a DSL connection over twisted-paircabling, and a second network access service provider 120 may providenetwork access to the gateway 102 via a cable television connection overcoaxial cabling. In some instances, the gateway 102 may be operable toconcurrently communicate over multiple physical layer connectionsprovided by multiple network access service providers.

The broadband gateway 102 may also be operable to provide and/or supportvarious other, non-content related services in the home network 100. Forexample, the broadband gateway 102 may be operable to provide energymanagement in the home network 102, by controlling and/or adjustingconfiguration of one or more devices in the home network to reduce powerconsumption for example.

Devices serviced by, and/or connected with the broadband gateway 102 maycomprise content consuming devices and/or other, non-content consuminghousehold or home devices that may be operable to interact with thebroadband gateway 102. For example, the broadband gateway 102 mayservice, and/or may communicate with a plurality of home devices 104a-104 j in the home network 100 a. The home devices may comprise, forexample, one or more of a television 104 a, a laptop computer 104 b, asmoke detector, a carbon monoxide detector, and/or a security alarm 104c, a computer and/or server 104 d, a mobile phone 104 e, a speaker 104f, an AM/FM radio 104 g, a phone 104 h, an appliance 104 i (e.g.,refrigerator), and a digital video recorder (DVR) or personal videorecorder (PVR) 104 j. The broadband gateway 102 may interact with eachof the home devices 104 a-104 j via links 106 a-106 j, which may besupported by the broadband gateway 102 and the corresponding homedevice. For example, the link 106 a between the broadband gateway 102and the television 104 a may comprise a High-Definition MultimediaInterface (HDMI) cable and/or 60 GHz WiGig wirelessconnection/interface. The link 106 b may comprise, for example, a wiredEthernet link, a wireless Ethernet link, a Universal Serial Bus (USB)link, or an IEEE 1394 link. The link 106 c may comprise, for example, atwo-wire link or a wireless link. The link 106 d may comprise, forexample, a wired Ethernet link, a wireless Ethernet link, a USB link, oran IEEE 1394 link. The link 106 e may comprise, for example, a wirelessEthernet link, a USB link, or a cellular link. The link 106 f maycomprise speaker wire and/or a wireless link. The link 106 g maycomprise, for example, AM and/or FM radio transmissions broadcastreceived using the broadband gateway 102. The link 106 h may comprise,for example, a phone line. The link 106 i may comprise, for example, awired or wireless Ethernet link. The link 106 j may comprise, forexample, a wired or a wireless link.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1,although the devices 104 a-104 j may communicate only the broadbandgateway 102 as shown, the invention may not be so limited. Accordingly,the devices 104 a-104 j may communicate with multiple broadband gatewaysin a local or home network without departing from the spirit and scopeof various embodiments of the invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of home networks 100 b, . . . ,100 n, may also be connected to the distribution networks 110. Thesehome networks 100 b, . . . , 100 n may operate in substantially the samemanner as the home network 100 a. By having multiple home networksconnected to the distribution networks 110, various applications, suchas peer-to-peer communication and/or data aggregation operations may bepossible by utilizing the broadband gateways 102 in the home networks.

In operation, one or more of the devices 104 a-104 j may request thatcontent for a requested service be delivered to it via the broadbandgateway 102. In an embodiment of the invention, upon receiving a servicerequest from, for example, the device 104 a, the broadband gateway 102may be operable to concurrently examine channel conditions forassociated networks and a user profile associated with the device 104 a.In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may determine networkconditions and identify an associated user profile for the device 104 a.

The determined network conditions may comprise one or more serviceproviders supporting the requested service, available network resourcesand network quality. The one or more service providers may each provideat least a portion of content for the requested service. The availablenetwork resources may comprise physical layer connections, time slots,power and/or bandwidths available for the requested service. The networkquality may comprise information such as, for example, varyingbandwidth, variable bit error rate, and/or unexpected quality degrade.The user profile for the device 104 a may comprise device power usageinformation, device service processing capabilities and/or userselections. The device service processing capabilities may compriseinformation such as, for example, supported physical layer connections,service bandwidth requirement, and/or content coding and transcodingcapabilities for the requested service.

The broadband gateway 102 may negotiate a service profile for therequested service with the associated networks and/or the one or moreservice providers utilizing the determined network conditions and theidentified user profile for the device 104 a. The service profile maycomprise a set of attributes describing the requested service, forexample, type of service, type of content, service providers,connections and corresponding quality of service (QoS) for the requestedservice. The broadband gateway 102 may store the service profile toassist in the transcoding and/or content delivery process within thehome network 100 a for the requested service when needed.

In an embodiment of the invention, content for the requested service maybe provided by one or more service providers. In this regard, each ofthe one or more service providers may provide at least a portion ofcontent required for the requested service. Depending on systemconfiguration, content provided by the one or more service providers mayor may not overlap. For example, assume that the requested service is alayered video service comprising five layer videos, namely, one baselayer video and four enhancement layer videos. Assume also that twoservice providers may provide content for the same layered videoservice. The first service provider may provide content for the baselayer video and the first two enhancement layer videos. The secondservice provider may provide content for the rest three enhancementlayer videos. In addition, the two service providers may distribute thecorresponding content over different connections and thereby maycommunicate the corresponding content, for example, in different contentquality, format and/or transmission rates, to the broadband gateway 102.In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may acquire correspondingcontent for the requested service from the one or more service providersutilizing the service profile. Content acquired from different serviceproviders may be in different content quality, format and/ortransmission rates. The broadband gateway 102 may aggregate oraccumulate the corresponding acquired content from the one or moreservice providers. The resulting aggregated content may be assembled forthe requested service. For example, the broadband gateway 102 may beoperable to weight and/or combine one or more portions of the acquiredcontent based on corresponding content quality. The assembled contentmay be communicated to a requesting device such as the device 104 a forthe requested service.

In an embodiment of the invention, the broadband gateway 102 may beoperable to support a peer-to-peer service within a home network 100 a.A peer-to-peer service is provided by relaying or communicating contentamong peer devices such as the devices 104 a-104 j within the homenetwork 100 a through the broadband gateway 102. For example, thebroadband gateway 102 may receive content uploaded by, for example, thedevice 104 c. The uploaded content from the device 104 c may bedesirable to other subsequent devices such as the device 104 e. Thebroadband gateway 102, before relaying the uploaded content to thedevice 104 e, may identify or determine a user profile associated withthe device 104 e. In instances where the content from the device 104 cis uploaded in a transmission rate of 500 kbps, however, the device 104e may handle or receive content in a transmission rate of 200 kbps, thebroadband gateway 102 may be required to relay or deliver the uploadedcontent to the device 104 b at a decreased transmission rate, namely,200 kbps. In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may convert theuploaded content to fit a transmission rate of 200 kbps beforedelivering or relaying the uploaded content to the device 104 e. Ininstances where the uploaded content from the device 104 c is in MPEG4format, however, the device 104 e may only handle or receive content inMPEG2 format. In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may convert theuploaded content by transcoding the uploaded MPEG4 content into MPEG2content as required by the identified user profile for the device 104 e.The converted content may then be communicated or relayed to the device104 e, accordingly.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary broadband gateway, whichmay be operable to aggregate content from one or more service providersfor a requested service in a home network, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the broadband gateway102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, code, and/or interfaces thatmay be operable to provide connectivity between one or more networks,such as the distribution networks 110 shown in FIG. 1, for example, andone or more devices in a home network, such as the home devices 104a-104 j in the home network 100 a shown in FIG. 1.

The broadband gateway 102 may operate as an interface device that allowsone or more devices in the home network to access one or more networks,and to access various services and/or content via those one or morenetworks. For example, the broadband gateway 102 may be utilized toenable interaction between the plurality of service providers 120 and/orthe plurality of content providers 130, and the home devices 104 a-104j. The broadband gateway 102 may communicate or interact with one ormore service providers for a service requested by the home devices 104a-104 j. In this regard, upon receiving a service request from the homedevice 104 a, for example, the broadband gateway 102 may determinenetwork conditions and identify a user profile associated with thedevice 104 a. The broadband gateway 102 may communicate with theassociated networks to identify one or more service providers that maybe operable to provide at least a portion of the content for therequested service. In this regard, content provided by the identifiedone or more service providers may be different portions of content orthe same portions of content for the requested service. The broadbandgateway 102 may negotiate a service profile for the requested servicewith the associated networks and/or the identified one or more serviceproviders based on the determined network conditions and the identifieduser profile for the device 104 a. The broadband gateway 102 may storethe service profile for subsequent content aggregation for the requestedservice. The broadband gateway 102 may acquire content for the requestedservice supported by the identified one or more service providers basedon the stored service profile. The broadband gateway 102 may aggregateor accumulate the acquired content. The aggregated content may beassembled to be provided or communicated to the device 104 a for therequested service. In addition, the broadband gateway 102 may support apeer-to-peer technology to relay or communicate content among peerdevices within an associated home network 100 a. For example, contentreceived from, for example, the device 104 a, may be relayed ordelivered to another device such as the device 104 e within the homenetwork 104 e. In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may convert thereceived content to match a user profile associated with the device 104e. The converted content may be communicated or provided to the device104 e via the broadband gateway 102.

The broadband gateway 102 may communicate with the various devices via ahome network that may comprise wired and/or wireless communicationlinks, such as the home network 100 a. In this regard, the broadbandgateway 102 may comprise suitable hardware and/or software to providesome or all of the functions and/or operations of one or more of amodem, a router, and a switch. The modem functions and/or operations maybe those of a digital subscribed line (DSL) modem, a cable modem, or awireless cable modem, for example. The router functions and/oroperations may be those of a wireless router, for example. The switchfunctions and/or operations may be those of a network switch, or a localarea network (LAN) switch, for example. In some instances, the broadbandgateway 102 may communicate with the various devices in the home viamore than one home network.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to provide energy managementby varying the configuration of one or more devices in the home network.The broadband gateway 102 may collect and/or store energy-relatedinformation of the devices in the home network and/or of the links inthe home network, and may utilize such information to control theoperation of the home devices. For example, the broadband gateway 102may utilize channel capacity flexibility and content coding options tominimize and/or optimize power utilization. The broadband gateway 102may also configure and/or manage the configuration of the networkbetween the broadband gateway 102 and one or more service/contentproviders based on the energy-related information associated with thedevices in the home. For example, at least a portion of the distributionnetworks 100 may be configured and/or managed in this manner. Thebroadband gateway 102 may be utilized to display energy-related metrics,including consumption trends and/or costs, for example, and to displayany available credits/rewards that may be redeemed by a user. In someinstances, when a device in the home network is a certified device, suchas a California efficient display, for example, the broadband gateway102 may be utilized to provide that information to a service/contentprovider and obtain rewards/credits associated with the use of suchcertified devices. Moreover, overall network power consumption may bemanaged by sharing information among multiple interconnected broadbandgateways.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to adapt and/or enable changesin a subscription model and/or in multimedia delivery characteristicsbased on the capabilities of the various devices in the home network.For example, high-definition video content may be delivered to certaintype of devices, such as digital televisions (DTVs), whilelow-definition video content and/or text may be delivered to a differenttype of devices, such as personal mobile devices. In this regard, thebroadband gateway 102 may be utilized to reduce bandwidth and/orprocessing power consumption in the home network. The broadband gateway200 may also support and/or use multi-transport processing, which may beperformed sequentially, in parallel, and/or utilizing distributedprocessing.

The gateway functionality associated with a user, such as securityfeatures, preferences, applications, electronic programming guides(EPGs), and user profile, for example, may be ported from the broadbandgateway 102 to one or more other broadband gateways 102 in otherlocations. In some instances, a visitor may be allowed access to theircontent outside their service/content provider service area by, forexample, classifying the access level for different users and/or byproviding limited access to content. Moreover, the broadband gateway 102may allow multiple user interface software structures by, for example,standardizing an interface to service/content providers and devices inthe home network.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to broker and/or arbitratewith service/content providers the consumption of certain services, suchas music and video, for example. In some instances, the broadbandgateway 102 may perform content search, transport discovery, ranking,and/or sorting. These operations may be performed based on contentquality, price, quality-of-service (QOS), and network protocolssupported by the devices in the home network, such as service levelagreements (SLAs), for example.

Various emergency-related services in the home network may be supportedby the broadband gateway 102, including allowing first responders toprovide alerts to a select group of users by accessing the broadbandgateway 102 via secure links provided by the service/content providers.For example, the broadband gateway 102 may enable an emergency serviceprovider, such as those associated with the emergency service providernetwork 140 described above in FIG. 1, to access one or more devices inthe home network.

Customized graphical user interfaces (GUIs) may be generated by thebroadband gateway 102, wherein the GUIs may be used to visually displayand/or provide interaction with the customized content.

For peer-to-peer communication, the broadband gateway 102 may beutilized to allow enhanced content sharing in a service/content providernetwork. In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may be utilized toconstruct a directory service for peer-to-peer connectivity with friendsand family, for example. The broadband gateway 102 may be utilized toprovide incentives to users who engage in peer-to-peer communicationthrough, for example, the distribution networks 110. Moreover, thebroadband gateway 102 may be utilized to match the content coding to theservice type being consumed by the user and to make the necessaryallocations through the network with respect to peer-to-peer orconventional Internet programming or broadcast programming.

The broadband gateway 102 may be utilized in connection with constrainednetwork resources, such as time of day, traffic congestion, and thelike, for example, to provide incentives for a user to accept a lowercost, lower quality of service that is dynamically configured forcurrent network conditions. In some instances, the broadband gateway 102may allow enhanced low latency service delivery to client devices in ahome network.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to run or execute an agent toextract content, rating, copyright, language, privacy rules, andautomatically add user generated content, for example. Such agent may berun or executed in connection with the processor module 204 of thebroadband gateway 102, for example. In some instances, the broadbandgateway 102 may be operable to provide rating-related information orchannel prediction to a service/content provider to assist with fastchannel change.

Bandwidth optimization by, for example, placing future requests forbandwidth to a service/content provider and accepting the best timeslotsprovided in return may be enabled by the broadband gateway 102.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to combine and/or blendmultiple contents for use as single content in the home network. Suchcombination may be performed in one or more of the modules of thebroadband gateway 102. For example, the broadband gateway 102 may blenddifferent video and audio contents for an event by accessing one or moreservice/content providers and providing automatic and/or manual contentsynchronization.

The protection, management, and/or tracking of confidential data, suchas health and financial records, for example, by tagging the data may beprovided by the broadband gateway 102. Only when a user authorizes thetransfer of the confidential data will such data be stored and/oraggregated. The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to create atrusted rating mechanism for content. The broadband gateway 102 may besecure against external threats that may be downloaded from outside thehome network and may provide a secure domain distribution in the homenetwork. Automated and secured billing and payment services may also beprovided by the broadband gateway 102.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to utilize client or homedevice profile information to select layered video service(s) and/ortransmission. Such information may be stored, at least temporarily, inthe memory module 206 of the broadband gateway 102. In some instances,the programming and/or enhanced video layers received by the broadbandgateway 102 may be aggregated midstream by one or more network orrouting nodes.

The broadband gateway 102 may support a reduction in the cost ofunwatched content by using multi-tier billing for downloaded content,such as video content. The broadband gateway 102 may be utilized toprovide a unified payment portal for collecting and/or aggregatingcharges from multiple service and/or content providers.

The broadband gateway 102 may comprise one or more modules. Each ofthese modules may comprise hardware, software, or a combination thereofthat may be utilized to perform various operations associated with thebroadband gateway 102. In an embodiment of the invention, the broadbandgateway 102 may comprise a provider interface module 202, a processormodule 204, a memory module 206, and a home network interface module208. In some instances, the broadband gateway 102 may be such that thevarious modules listed above may be distributed over multiple devices.Moreover, the modules listed above are provided by way of illustrationand not of limitation. Other configurations and/or architectures of thebroadband gateway 102 may also be implemented. For example, thebroadband gateway 102 may be a virtual gateway that is setup in anetwork by utilizing virtual machines (VMs) and/or next-generation (NG)data centers.

The provider interface module 202 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, code, and/or interfaces that may be operable to receive datafrom and/or send data to one or more service/content providers via oneor more physical layer connections 130 to one or more network accessservice providers. In this regard, each of the physical layerconnections 130 ₁-130 _(J) may connect the gateway 110 to a differencenetwork access service provider. Each of the physical layer connections130 may comprise a wired, optical, or wireless connection. Each of thephysical layer connections 130 may utilize different physical mediaand/or different physical layer protocols. For example, the connection130 ₁ may comprise a DSL over twisted-pair connection and the connection130 _(J) may comprise a CATV over coaxial cable connection.

The processor module 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, code,and/or interfaces that may be operable to process data received from theservice/content providers and/or data received from one or more devices104 in the home. Data received from the service/content providers viaone or more physical layer connections 210 ₁-210 _(J) may be processedto make it suitable for communication to a device such as the device 104a and data from the one or more devices 104 may be processed to make itsuitable for communication to the service/content providers via one ormore physical layer connections 210 ₁-210 _(J). In this regard, theprocessor module 204 may comprise one or more portions that are suitableto handle communication or interactions between the plurality of serviceproviders 120 and/or the plurality of content providers 130, and thedevices 104. For example, the processor module 204 may communicate, viathe provider interface module 202, with associated networks and/orservice providers such as the plurality of service providers 120 for aservice requested by the device 104 a. The processor module 204 maycommunicate with associated networks via the provider interface module202 to determine network conditions such as network channel quality. Theprocessor module 204 may communicate with the device 104 a, via the homenetwork interface module 208, to identify a user profile associated withthe device 104 a. The processor module 204 may negotiate a serviceprofile for the requested service with the associated networks and/orthe one or more service providers based on the determined networkconditions and the identified user profile. The service profile may beutilized to acquire content via the provider interface module 202 forthe requested service. The processor module 204 may aggregate oraccumulate the acquired content from the one or more service providers.The processor module 204 may assemble the aggregated content and mayprovide or communicate the assembled content to the device 104 a, viathe home network interface module 208, for the requested service. Theprocessor module 204 may relay content among peer devices such as thedevices 104 a-104 j to support a peer-to-peer service within the homenetwork 110 a. In this regard, the processor module 204 may performcontent conversion during relay communication for the peer-to-peerservice.

The processor module 204 may monitor or identify a user profile for eachsubsequent device during the relay communication. The processor module204 may convert content based on the user profile for the nextsubsequent device. For example, the processor module 204 may receivecontent uploaded from the device 104 a. The processor module 204, beforedelivering the uploaded content to the next subsequent peer device suchas the device 104 b, may identify or determine a user profile associatedwith the device 104 b. The uploaded content may be compared with theidentified user profile associated with the device 104 b. In instanceswhere the uploaded content from the device 104 a does not match theidentified user profile for the device 104 b, the processor module 204may convert the uploaded content to match the user profile associatedwith the device 104 b. For example, the uploaded content is MPEG4content and the device 104 b only supports MPEG2 content, the processormodule 204 may transcode the uploaded content from MPEG4 to MPEG2. Theresulting MPEG2 content may be communicated or relayed to the device 104e via the home network interface module 208.

The processor module 204 may also be operable to generate a graphicaluser interface (GUI) which may be manipulated via which a user mayprovide input. The GUI may be displayed as part of an OSD on a localdevice 104, such as a monitor or television, and may be manipulated viaa remote control and/or other input device that communicates directlywith the broadband gateway 102. The GUI may be a web-based interface,and a user may interact with it via a computer and web browser. The GUImay be customized based on characteristics of the broadband gateway 102,the device 104 coupled to the broadband gateway 102, and the serviceand/or content providers associated with the broadband gateway 102. Theprocessors module 204 may utilize the memory 206 in performing itsfunctions.

The memory module 206 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, code,and/or interfaces that may be operable to store data utilized in theoperations of the broadband gateway 102. For example, the memory module206 may be utilized to store configuration data, parameters, deviceinformation, tracking and/or monitoring information, securityinformation, and intermediate processing data, for example. The memorymodule 206 may comprise storage media that may be integrated in thebroadband gateway 102 and/or may be removable such as a removablestorage device.

The home network interface module 208 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, code, and/or interfaces that may be operable to receive datafrom and/or send data to one or more devices in the home network. Thehome network interface module 208 may be operable to support multiplecommunication protocols, standards, and/or data transport technologies.In this regard, the home network interface module 208 may handle one ormore physical layer connections to one or more devices 104. For example,the home network interface module 208 may comprise, one or more wiredand/or wireless Ethernet interfaces, one or more analog and/or digitalaudio outputs, one or more audio/video interfaces such as such as HDMIand DisplayPort, 60 GHz WiGig wireless connection/interface, one or moreUSB interfaces, one or more IEEE 1394, and/or one or more telephonejacks.

In operation, a service request may be received from a device 104 a viathe home network interface module 208. The processor module 204 maycommunicate, via the provider interface module 202, with thedistribution networks 110 to determine network conditions for therequested service. The processor module 204 may also monitor, via thehome network interface module 208, activities on the device 104 a toidentify or discover an associated user profile. The processor module204 may negotiate a service profile for the requested service with theassociated networks and/or the one or more service providers based onthe determined network conditions and the identified user profile. Theprocessor module 204 may acquire content for the requested service viathe provider interface module 202. The acquired content from thedifferent service providers may comprise different content quality,transmission rates and/or formats. The processor 204 may aggregate theacquired content from the corresponding service providers. The acquiredcontent may be assembled or combined. The assembled content may beprovided or communicated to the device 104 a via the home networkinterface module 208. Content may be relayed among peer devices such asthe devices 104 a-104 j within the home network 110 a. The processor 204may perform content conversion during the relay communication such thatthe relayed content matches a user profile associated with the nextsubsequent peer device.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps that may beperformed by a broadband gateway to negotiate a service profile for arequested service with one or more service providers based oncorresponding network conditions and a user profile associated with arequesting device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 3, the exemplary steps may begin with step 302, inwhich a broadband gateway 102 may interface with the devices 104 and theservice/content providers via the distribution network(s) 110. In step304, the broadband gateway 102 may receive a service request from thedevice 104 a, for example. In step 306, the broadband gateway 102 mayidentify a user profile associated with the device 104 a. In step 308,the broadband gateway 102 may communicate with associated distributionnetworks 110 to discover one or more service providers that may provideat least a portion of content required for the requested service. Instep 310, the broadband gateway 102 may determine network conditionssuch as available network resources and/or corresponding channel qualityto support the requested service. In step 312, the broadband gateway 102may negotiate a service profile for the requested service with the oneor more service providers based on the determined network conditions andthe identified user profile. In step 314, the determined service profilemay be stored by the broadband gateway 102 for content aggregation forthe requested service.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps that may beperformed by a broadband gateway to assemble content aggregated from oneor more service providers for a requested service, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the exemplary stepsmay begin with step 402, in which a broadband gateway 102 may interfacewith the devices 104 and the service/content providers via thedistribution network(s) 110. In step 404, the broadband gateway 102 mayacquire content for a requested service that is supported by one or moreservice providers. Each service provider may provide at least a portionof content required for the requested service. Content provided by eachof the one or more service providers may overlap or may comprisedifferent portions of content for the requested service. In step 406,the broadband gateway 102 may aggregate corresponding content acquiredfrom the one or more service providers. In step 408, the broadbandgateway 102 may assemble or combine the aggregated content over the oneor more service providers for the requested service. In step 410, theassembled content may be communicated to the device 104 b for therequested service.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps that may beperformed by a broadband gateway for content relay utilizingpeer-to-peer technology in a home network, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the exemplary stepsmay begin with step 502, in which a broadband gateway 102 may interfacewith the devices 104 for a peer-to-peer service. In step 504, thebroadband gateway 102 may be operable to receive content uploaded by adevice such as the device 104 a. In step 506, the broadband gateway 102may identify a user profile associated with the next subsequent peerdevice such as the device 104 b. In step 508, the broadband gateway 102may compare the received content from the device 104 a utilizingcriteria such as, for example, content quality, transmission rate and/orcontent formats, with the identified user profile for the device 104 b.

In step 510, the broadband gateway 102 may determine whether thereceived content from the device 104 a matches the identified userprofile for the device 104 b. In instance where the received contentdoes not match the identified user profile for the device 104 b, then instep 512, the broadband gateway 102 may convert the received contentfrom the device 104 a to match or fit the identified user profileassociated with the device 104 b. In step 514, the broadband gateway 102may relay or communicate the converted content to the next subsequentpeer device, namely, the device 104 b, for the peer-to-peer service.

In step 510, in instance where the received content matches theidentified user profile for the device 104 b, then in step 516. Thebroadband gateway 102 may relay or communicate the received content fromthe device 104 a to the next subsequent peer device, namely, the device104 b, for the peer-to-peer service.

Various aspects of a method and system for content aggregation via abroadband gateway are provided. In various exemplary embodiments of theinvention, a broadband gateway 102, which enables communication with aplurality of devices 104, is operable to handle at least one physicallayer connection to at least one corresponding network access serviceprovider. The at least one physical layer connection may comprise aplurality of physical layer connections such as the physical layerconnections 210 ₁-210 _(J) and the at least one corresponding networkaccess service provider may comprise a plurality of corresponding accessservice providers such as the service providers 120 and/or the contentproviders 130. Each of the plurality of physical layer connections 210₁-210 _(J) corresponds to a respective one of the plurality ofcorresponding access service providers. The broadband gateway 102 may beoperable to receive a service request from, for example, the device 104a. The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to determine networkconditions for the requested service and identify an associated userprofile associated with the device 104 a. The broadband gateway 102 maynegotiate a service profile for the requested service with the at leastone network access service provider based on the determined networkconditions and the identified user profile for the device 104 a. Thebroadband gateway 102 may receive content for the requested service fromthe at least one network access service provider based on the serviceprofile.

The determined network conditions may comprise one or more serviceproviders providing content for the requested service, available networkresources and network quality. The identified user profile for thedevice 104 a may comprise device power usage information, device serviceprocessing capabilities and/or user selections. The service profile maycomprise type of service, type of content, service providers, networkconnections and corresponding quality of service (QoS) for the requestedservice. The one or more service providers each may provide at least aportion of content for the requested service. Depending on systemconfiguration, the one or more service providers may provide one or moresame portions of content and/or one or more different portions ofcontent for the requested service. In addition, the one or more serviceproviders may provide content comprising different content quality,content format and/or transmission rates for the requested service. Thebroadband gateway 102 may acquire corresponding content for therequested service from the one or more service providers utilizing theservice profile. The broadband gateway 102 may aggregate or accumulatethe corresponding acquired content from the one or more serviceproviders. The corresponding aggregated content may be assembled overthe one or more service providers for the requested service.

The broadband gateway 102 may communicate or provide the assembledcontent to the device 104 a for the requested service. The broadbandgateway 102 may be operable to relay content among peer devices such asthe devices 104 a-104 j within the home network 100 a for a peer-to-peerservice. In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may perform contentconversion during the relay communication to match a user profile of thenext subsequent peer device. For example, the broadband gateway 102 mayreceive content uploaded by, for example, the device 104 a. Beforedelivering the received content to the next subsequent peer device suchas the device 104 b, the broadband gateway 102 may compare the receivedcontent, for example, content quality and/or content format, with a userprofile associated with the device 104 b. The received content may beconverted to match the user profile associated with the device 104 b.The broadband gateway 102 may relay or communicate the converted contentto the device 104 b for the peer-to-peer service.

Other embodiments of the invention may provide a non-transitory computerreadable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machinereadable medium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machinecode and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for contentaggregation via a broadband gateway.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for networking, the method comprising:in a broadband gateway that enables communication with a plurality ofdevices, wherein said broadband gateway is configured to handle at leastone physical layer connection to at least one corresponding networkaccess service provider: identifying a first user profile associatedwith a first device of said plurality of devices for a service requestedby said first device, wherein said identified first user profileassociated with the first device comprises at least one of device powerusage information and user selections; receiving content from said atleast one network access service provider for the requested serviceaccording to a service profile negotiated with said at least one networkaccess service provider, wherein said service profile comprises type ofservice, type of content, service providers, network connections orcorresponding quality of service (QoS) for said requested service;storing, by the broadband gateway, the content received from said atleast one network access service provider for said requested service;communicating, by the broadband gateway, said content to the firstdevice; converting, by the broadband gateway, the content stored by thebroadband gateway to match a second user profile associated with anotherdevice of said plurality of devices; and relaying, by the broadbandgateway, said converted content to said another device of said pluralityof devices.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one physicallayer connection comprises a plurality of physical layer connections andsaid at least one network access service provider comprises a pluralityof network access service providers, and wherein, each of said pluralityof physical layer connections corresponds to a respective one of said atleast one network access service provider.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, wherein said at least one network access service providerprovide one or more different portions of content or one or more sameportions of content for said requested service.
 4. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein said identified first user profile associated withthe first device comprises at least one of device power usageinformation and user selections.
 5. The method according to claim 1,comprising comparing said content received from said at least onenetwork access service provider, with said second user profileassociated with said another device of said plurality of devices.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, comprising receiving content from a seconddevice of said plurality of devices, and converting said contentreceived from the second device to match said identified first userprofile of the first device or a third user profile of a third device ofsaid plurality of devices.
 7. A system for networking, the systemcomprising: one or more circuits for use in a broadband gateway thatenables communication with a plurality of devices, wherein saidbroadband gateway is configured to handle at least one physical layerconnection to at least one network access service provider, the one ormore circuits being configured to implement: a content processorconfigured to: identify a first user profile associated with a firstdevice of said plurality of devices for a service requested by saidfirst device, wherein said identified first user profile associated withthe first device comprises at least one of device power usageinformation and user selections; and receive content from said at leastone network access service provider for the requested service accordingto a service profile negotiated with said at least one network accessservice provider, wherein said service profile comprises type ofservice, type of content, service providers, network connections orcorresponding quality of service (QoS) for said requested service; aprovider interface configured to: communicate said content to the firstdevice; and convert the content stored by the content processor to matcha second user profile associated with another device of said pluralityof devices; and a network interface configured to relay said convertedcontent to said another device of said plurality of devices.
 8. Thesystem according to claim 7, wherein said at least one physical layerconnection comprises a plurality of physical layer connections and saidat least one network access service provider comprises a plurality ofnetwork access service providers, and wherein each of said plurality ofphysical layer connections corresponds to a respective one of saidplurality of network access service providers.
 9. The system accordingto claim 7, wherein said one or more of said plurality of network accessservice providers provide one or more different portions of content orone or more same portions of content for said requested service.
 10. Thesystem according to claim 7, wherein said content processor isconfigured to compare said content received from said at least onenetwork access service provider, with said second user profileassociated with said another device of said plurality of devices.
 11. Abroadband gateway device for networking, the broadband gateway devicecomprising: one or more circuits that enable communication with aplurality of devices, wherein the broadband gateway device is configuredto handle at least one physical layer connection to at least one networkaccess service provider, said one or more circuits being configured toimplement: a content processor configured to: identify a first userprofile associated with a first device of said plurality of devices fora service requested by said first device, wherein said identified firstuser profile associated with the first device comprises at least one ofdevice power usage information and user selections; receive content fromsaid at least one network access service provider for the requestedservice according to a service profile negotiated with said at least onenetwork access service provider, wherein said service profile comprisestype of service, type of content, service providers, network connectionsor corresponding quality of service (QoS) for said requested service; aprovider interface configured to: communicate said content to the firstdevice; and convert the content stored by the content processor, tomatch a second user profile associated with another device of saidplurality of devices; and a network interface configured to relay saidconverted content to said another device of said plurality of devices.12. The broadband gateway device of claim 11, wherein said one or moreof said plurality of network access service providers provide one ormore different portions of content or one or more same portions ofcontent for said requested service.
 13. The broadband gateway device ofclaim 11, wherein said content processor is configured to comparecontent received from one of said plurality of devices with said seconduser profile associated with said another device of said plurality ofcomputing devices.